This product is quite possibly the best high power portable antenna in the market at this price point. I finally have a 40 meter dipole that tunes in seconds , assembles in minutes and operates at high power. This dipole offers easy and reliable performance on 40 meters and every high frequency band above plus 6 meters . I do not have any reason to dismantle the coil as it is working perfectly . This is great product from MFJ at a very good price

When I saw this, I had to share it. Just took the Big Ears coil apart, which is the same coil used in the 2286, and in true MFJ fashion (though not on every product item) there are some corners that are cut and at least one major construction flaw that can cause collateral damage to your equipment when it fails. Under the shrink tubing at the base of the could you will find a ring made from a very flimsy (almost like heavy aluminum foil) metal. Here there is a glob of solder holding a hard stiff wire on the ring. When the long whip sways in the wind, the solder glob disconnects/breaks free of the ring due to forces placed upon the stiff wire as the coil sways even just slightly. As the coil experiences greater stresses the plastic, which became brittle over my last year of ownership began to break.

This a great product from MFJ. I bought it last summer and set it up in the back yard for a mini field day. I heard a person calling CQ on 20M and I responded and got a 59 signal report from Mexico City using 5 watts on a Yaesu 817 QRP rig. Answered another call in Slovenia and numerous stateside contacts. Just played Radio today outside and made many stateside contacts on 20 and 40 with 2.5 watts and Ukraine and Slovenia on 5 watts. Antenna is directional pointing the broadside in the direction of the QSO. I heard a fella call CQ and i responded and he couldn't hear me. I looked up his call sign QTH and pointed broadside towards Roanoke, Virginia and he gave me a 59 report on 2.5 Watts. I am extremely happy with this but be careful and not let the wind pull it down because it will ruin it. Just follow the directions and it will work great. Make sure all connections are tightened down.

Just bought a Yaesu FT-817 and decided to give it a try with this antenna. After setting up in my driveway in northern California. I plugged in the 2289. SWR was flat just based on the recommended settings. I was able to work 2 stations in Japan, another portable in Colorado, and a station in North Dakota all on 17m. Pretty impressive on 5 watts with this portable antenna up on a tripod mast at about 12'. I am still amazed at how well this antenna works. Great investment.

I enjoy being able to work HF while traveling. Having a good portable antenna that was not only easy to set up and use but one that works as well as a more conventional, permanent type was paramount to me. After trying a couple of other travel type antennas with marginal results, I came across the MFJ-2289 in their catalog and was intrigued by the design.
The antenna consists of a center mounting block containing the 3/8-24 mounting studs each positioned to hold the whips at an approximate 45 degree angle from the vertical, an SO-239 coax connector, a mast quick connector, and a matching balun. Two collapsible whips that extend from 28” to 17’ each and an adjustable coil complete the setup. The coil is screwed into the mounting block and one of the whips into the coil. The other whip is screwed into the other side of the block. The jumper on the coil is then set as recommended for the band. No tools are required for setup. Use of an antenna tuner while not required speeds the SWR setup process. MFJ recommends using a fiberglas or other non-metallic mast to mount the antenna. Once set up, the antenna resembles a large set of the old “rabbit ears” TV antennas from the past.
After receiving the antenna and the MFJ-1919EX fiberglas tripod/mast combo, I gave it a quick trial run setting up in the back yard with my Yaesu FT-897. Setup was fast and easy taking all of about 10 minutes. I adjusted the antenna for 40 meters as per the included guide with SWR setting very smooth with one minor adjustment. I immediately made 3 contacts on 40 meters. I then re-configured the antenna for 20 meters again with a quick SWR adjustment and made 3 more contacts.
About 3 weeks later, I was finally able to give the antenna a good wringing out from the north coast of California. Setting up in the back yard of my in-laws house, I quickly had the antenna up on the mast and worked several stations on 20 meters with only 15 watts of power from the FT-897. Quickly reconfiguring to 40 meters, I checked in with one of my regular nets. I then reset the antenna for 17 meters, bumped the power up to 90 watts and worked numerous US stations, one in Mexico, and one in Russia. Had several great signal reports from around the country; many believing I was running a kilowatt or more.
All in all, this is a great travel antenna. Easy to set up and take down, easy to tune, and excellent transmit and receive capabilities.

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